According to officials, a drone attack on a military base in Transnistria, an independent region in Moldova, caused a helicopter to be destroyed and a fire to break out on Sunday.

The strike was attributed to Ukraine by the region’s pro-Russian governing officials.

According to a statement from Moldova’s Bureau for Reintegration Policies, they have reviewed video evidence of the incident and do not find evidence of an attack on Transnistria. They believe the event was orchestrated to instill fear and chaos in the region.

The statement mentioned that the military equipment shown in the video, which circulated on various social media platforms, “has not been operational for several years.” It also stated that the authorities in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, are communicating with Ukraine regarding the incident.

Approximately 1,500 troops from Russia are stationed in Transnistria, supposedly for peacekeeping purposes. They are responsible for protecting a large amount of Soviet weapons and ammunition stored at the Cobasna military depot. The drone attack on Sunday targeted a base in Tiraspol, the capital of the region, but it is unknown if any Russian troops were present at the site.

Recently, there was an attack following a request for protection to Moscow made by officials in Transnistria. This request was motivated by increasing tensions between Transnistria and Moldova’s pro-Western government.

On January 1st, Moldova, a potential member of the European Union, implemented fresh tariffs on imports and exports coming from Transnistria, which shares a border with Ukraine. However, Transnistria is not acknowledged by any of the United Nations’ member nations, including Russia, who has strong relations with the area.

At the end of the previous month, representatives of the governing body of Transnistria held a unique gathering in the main city of Tiraspol. During this meeting, they requested that the Russian legislative body, the Duma, take action to protect Transnistria from the growing pressure of Moldova. They justified this request by referencing the large population of Russian citizens, over 220,000 in number, who live in Transnistria.

On the last day of Russia’s closely monitored three-day presidential elections, an explosion occurred. In Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, where the election was being held, a man was arrested for throwing two Molotov cocktails at the Russian Embassy on Sunday.